Monday, September 17 -- After months of preparations -- and years of determining the town’s long-range goals -- Taos begins a week of intensive planning today that will lead to new, more effective tools to channel growth in line with the town’s vision. This highly focused process, called a “charrette,” kicks off tonight at 6:30 at the Taos Convention Center. Everyone is welcome.

Much of the preliminary work for this process has already been done by the citizens of Taos, who participated in the public meetings and workshops that drove the Vision 2020 plan. Now, over the course of this week, the PlaceMakers consulting team will help citizens and elected leaders create the Land Use Master Plan and Development Code needed to make the long-term vision viable.

So what will happen over the next five days?

First comes tonight’s initial presentation, where PlaceMakers specialists -- including architects, planners, and transportation experts -- will respond to what they’ve heard from Taos citizens and leaders about planning goals. That sets the agenda for the week.

Beginning Tuesday will be a series of meetings focused on specific topics, such as transportation issues and real estate development. By Wednesday, the consultants will have heard enough to try out works-in-progress at the midweek “pin-up” session, where everyone participates in a critique of ideas developed so far. Thursday and Friday are devoted to incorporating revisions from the pin-up and producing a final report for Friday night’s public presentation. By that time, citizens will be able to see how the new Land Use Development Code will address and shape growth in Taos neighborhoods and outlying areas.

The entire process is open to the public. In fact, the long-range success of the process depends on citizen participation and enthusiasm for the plans that emerge. For a complete schedule of the week, go here.

Throughout the week, you can follow the charrette’s daily process on this website and participate electronically by submitting your own comments, ideas and questions.

Welcome to the Taos SmartCode charrette.